No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States.
-- George Washington

Monday, January 25, 2010

Did Lies Change Health Care Reform Debate?

That's the question many are in a rush to answer in the wake of the Democrats losing their 60th seat in the US Senate. It's not that the public doesn't want this reform, the reasoning goes, it's that Republicans lied about reform and those lies are what turned the tide.

In light of this, let's review the history of the health care reform debate, and take a look at the lies it produced.

-There are 46 million uninsured Americans-Democrats only want a public option, not a single payer. And the public option won't ever lead to a single payer system-You will get to keep your current insurance if you want it even after the reform is passed-We have a free market health care system in the US, and that is what is to blame for rising costs-Preventive care drastically reduces total health care costs-There are no sweetheart deals with the drug company lobbyists-It will only cost a trillion dollars-All the deal making would be shown on C-Span-There would be no tax on so-called "Cadillac Plans"

Democrats lost the health care reform debate for two reasons: 1) Their ideas don't work 2) They lied about their ideas not working